People

Under ABA’s Bylaws, any bookstore member may submit petitions to have the names of additional candidates for Board officers and/or directors added to the ballot for the 2018–19 elections.

Steve Bercu, a former ABA president and CEO of Austin indie BookPeople, will retire in June 2018.

The Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Larry Law as the new executive director, effective March 1.

ABA’s Board of Directors has approved the Nominating Committee’s recommendation of four director candidates to stand for election to the Board. The petition process for additional candidates is underway.

Under ABA’s Bylaws, any bookstore member may submit petitions to have the names of additional candidates for Board officers and/or directors added to the ballot for the 2018–19 elections.

Heather Duncan, the former marketing and events director for Tattered Cover Book Store and the president of the MPIBA Board of Directors, will take the reins as executive director on January 22.

Deb Leonard, who has served as the executive director for the Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association since 2010, is leaving the organization.

The founder of Village Books and Paper Dreams biked across the country and raised funds for nonprofits, including $13,000 for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation. 

Laura Ayrey Burnett, who has served as the executive director for the Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association since 2010, is leaving to spend more time with her family.

Sally Dedecker, a longtime figure in the book industry, died on Monday, November 6. She was 62.

Steve Fischer, who has served as the executive director for the New England Independent Booksellers Association since 2006, has announced plans to retire.

Daniel O’Brien has joined the American Booksellers Association staff as the organization’s second Member Relationship Manager, serving the SIBA, SCIBA, NCIBA, PNBA, and MPIBA regions.

“I am in awe of our customers and their desire to understand, and I feel a responsibility toward them to make sure we’re putting the right books forward for them to find,” says Greenlight Bookstore co-owner Rebecca Fitting.